Level.



No. 868,089. PATENTED OCT. 15, 1907.

APPLICATION FILED 111111111 5.

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g flylig rlnmgmh T No. 868,089. PATENTED OCT. 15, 19 07.

E. HELB.

LEVEL.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 17, 1905.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

ZWMJEQZQ witnejkzzfi Inventor,

Attorneys Tn: NORRIS rnsns Ca, WASHINGTON, n. c.

EDWARD HELB, OF RAILROAD, PENNSYLVANIA.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 15, 1907.

Application filed June 17, 1905. Serial No. 265,780.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Enwann I-IELB, a citizen of the United States,residing at Railroad, in the county of York and State of Pennsylvania,have invented a new and useful Level, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to a combined level and grade finder and has forits object to provide a simple, durable and efficient device of thischaracter particularly designed for use by carpenters, bricklayers,mechanics and other persons in ascertaining different grades,determining the heights of objects. laying out roads and ior variousother purposes.

A further object of the invention is to provide a tool or instrumenthaving a double-ended gravity actuated pointer or index finger movableover the face of a graduated dial seated in a recess in one side of theinstrument, said dial consisting of a plurality of concentric circlesgraduated in such a manner that when one end of the pointer or finger isactuated to indicate the grade in inches per horizontal foot in anyelevation or the number of inches in the grade to every foot in thebase, the opposite end of the pointer will simultaneously indicate thegrade per slant foot and the munber of inches in the base for every footin the grade.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists in theconstruction and novel combination and arrangement of parts illustratedin the accompanying drawings and pointed out in the claims heretoappended, it being understood that various changes in form, proportionsand minor details of construction may be resorted to without departingfrom the principle or sacrificing any of the advantages of thisinvention.

In the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification,Figure l is a top plan view of combined level and grade finderconstructed in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a longitudinalsectional view of the same. Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view takenon the line S g of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a side elevation of a portion ofthe instrument showing the graduated dial. Fig. 5 is an enlarged frontelevation of the dial.

Similar numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts in all thefigures of the drawing.

The improved tool or instrument comprises a stock or body portion 5having a spirittnbe 6 seated in the upper edge thereof and a similartube 7 extending trans v ersely of the stock near one end of the latter,as shown. A longitudinal recess 8 is formed in the lower edge of thestock, said recess being covered by a metal plate 9 which also serves asa binder to the lower or wearing surface of the stock. One end of thelongitudinal recess closed by a plate of glass or other transparentmaterial 10 while the opposite end thereof communicates with an inclinedrecess ll which extends to the upper edge of the stock and is covered bya transparent plate .12, there being an inclined mirror 13 disposed atthe juncture of said recesses for reflecting the rays of light passingthrough the longitudinal recess upwardly through the inclined recess1].. The above mentioned elements are shown and described in my formerpatent No. 764,809, dated July 12, 1904 and form no part of the presentinvention, being merely illustrated in order to enable the improvementshereinafter described to be more readily understood.

Extending transversely of the stock or body portion 5 is a shaft 14 uponwhich is mounted for rotation a pointer or index finger 15. the latterbeing movable over the face of a graduated dial lti seated in a suitablerecess 17 formed in one side of said stock or body portion. The pointer.15 is provided with oppositely disposed indicating tingers 17, thelower one of which is weighted, as indicated at 18, so as to alwaysmaintain said pointer in a vertical position regardless of the angle orinclination of the stock. The dial l6 consists of a plate of metal,cardboard or other suitable material upon which are printed, stamped orotherwise represented a plurality of circles arranged concentric withthe shaft 14 and divided by division lines 19 into quarter circles orquadrants, as shown. The inner circle 20 is divided by radial lines intoseventy-six equal spaces representing inches on the circumference of acircle while the outer circle 21 is divided by similar radial lines intodegrees, each quarter circle or quadrant representing ninety degrees.The upper right-hand quadrant 22 is graduated from left to right andindicates the height of the perpendicular in inches per slant foot inany elevation and the adjacent quadrant 23 graduated from right to leftand indicates the number of inches in the base for each slant foot inthe hypotenuse. The lower quadrants 24 and 25 are graduated to indicatethe same measurements as the upper quadrants 22 and 23 only the lowerquadrants are numbered in whole numbers and decimals per foot for everyfive degrees thereby enabling the operator to more readily see thefractions of an inch per foot.

The upper left-hand quadrant 26 is graduated from right to left and isused for ascertaining the height or altitude of a perpendicular from aknown base, at a desired grade, and also the length of the slant line orhypotenuse if the length of the base or the height of the perpendicularare known. The adjacent upper left-hand quadrant 27, which is alsograduated from right to left, indicates the number of inches in theslant line or hypotenuse to every foot in the base. Thus for example ifthe grade is nine inches per horizontal foot the index finger of thedial will point to the numeral 9 on the quadrant 26 and to the numeral15 on the quadrant 27, thus indicating that to every foot in the basethere are fifteen inches in the slant line hy potenuse. In furtherexplanation of the use of the quadrants 26 and 27 let us say that it isdesired to know the height of a perpendicular fifty feet from a givenpoint, if the grade is nine inches to the foot. In this case elevate theinstrument-until the index finger pointsto the numeral 9 on the quadrant26 and then sight over the level or through the longitudinal recesstherein and the height of the perpendicular will be 50x9 or 37 feet 6inches. Again, let us say the height of the perpendicular is known, aswell as the base and it is desired to ascertain the length of the slantline or hypotenuse. Place the instrument at an incline and sight to thetop of the perpendicular and if, for instance, the index finger pointsto the numeral 9 on the quadrant 26, it will also point to the numeral15 on the adjacent quadrant 27 thus indicating that to every horizontalfoot (in this case fifty feet) there are fifteen inches in the slantline or hypothenuse thus making the slant line 50x15 or 62 feet 6inches.

The lower left-hand quarter circles 28 and 29 represent the samemeasurements as the upper quadrants 26 and 27 only the inches per footare numbered in whole numbers and decimals for every five degreessimilar to the opposite lower quadrants 24 and 25.

By having the several quadrants graduated in the manner described itenables the operator to determine at one reading the grade in inches perhorizontal foot in any elevation or the number of inches in the grade toevery foot in the base, the grade per slant foot, and the number ofinches in the base for every foot in the grade. To illustrate this moreclearly let us say that the length of the base line of a given elevationis fifty feet and the grade is five inches to the horizontal foot,

then the top of the index finger will point to the numeral 23 on thedegree circle 21, to the numeral 5 on the quadrant 26 and to the numeral13 on the quadrant 27, thus indicating that the perpendicular or heightof the elevation would be 50x5 or 20 feet 10 inches, and the length ofthe slant line or hypotenuse 50x13 or 54 feet 2 inches. With the indexfinger in this position the lower end thereof will also point to exactlythe same degree on the lower half of the circle 23, to 4.63 on thequadrant 24 and to 11.9 on the quadrant 25, thus indicating that thegrade per slant foot is 4.63 and that for every foot in the slant lineor hypotenuse there are 11.9 inches in the base. When the grade perslant foot, as indicated in the quadrant 22, constitutes the startingpoint the reverse proportions will be indicated on the lower quadrants28 and 29.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that 'there is provided asimple and durable instrument adrants, some of the quadrants of thescales being graduated to indicate measurements in inches anddiametrically opposite quadrants graduated to indicate the samemeasurements in inches and decimals thereof for a predetermined numberof degrees, a degree circle arranged concentric with the outer scale andsurrounding the latter, the radial lines of the concentric scalesintersecting the degree circle and dividing the latter into quadrantscorresponding to the quadrants of said concentric scales, an inmostscale graduated to represent inches on the circumference of a circle,and a single double ended pointer having one end thereof weighted andmovable over the face of the dial for indicating simultaneously a givenmeasurement in inches on one of the quadrants and the same measurementin inches and decimals thereof on the opposite quadrant for anyparticular marking on the degree circle.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto aifixedmy signature in the presence of two witnesses.

EDWARD HELB.

Witnesses:

S. .T. MCDOWELL, M. P. HOCKER.

